Prep Football Spotlight : PIRATE PARTY

San Pedro ended 24 years of frustration Friday night with a 22-21 victory over Banning at Daniels Field, rallying from a 21-7 deficit in the final nine minutes.

It was the Pirates’ first victory over Pilots since 1968.

Running back Ambrose Russo tied the score on a seven-yard touchdown run with 46 seconds left and John DiMassa kicked the extra point as the Pirates improved to 4-1-1 and 1-1-1 in the Southern Pacific Conference after playing Carson, Dorsey and Banning.

“You know, I think it was a bigger burden for those people in the stands than for our kids on the field,” San Pedro Coach Mike Walsh said of Banning’s streak. “I told our kids, ‘You know what guys? There’s a lot of frustration in those stands for 20 years, but you’re not responsible for that. You’re only responsible for yourself and your teammates.’

“I think they took it that way. I think they may have been happier (in the stands) than they were down here. I feel really happy for the town. We’ve had a lot of dedicated, loyal fans for quite a few years here and they deserve this even more than the team did.”

San Pedro drove 65 yards for the game-winning score after recovering a fumble by Banning tailback Damin Hurst. Alonzo Teodoro stripped the ball and Eddie Correa recovered at the San Pedro 35-yard line with 4 minutes 30 seconds remaining.

TOUCHY

Banning Coach Ed Paculba was in no mood to talk after the game.

Approached by reporters, he spotted one with a tape recorder and shouted, “What do you want? Turn that thing off!”

When asked about the game, which dropped the Pilots deeper into last place in the Pacific League at 0-2, Paculba said: “It was a bitter loss. What else do you want me to say?”

STOP THE MUSIC

San Pedro’s Bryant Thomas did his share of damage against Banning. Not only did he catch four passes for 115 yards and one touchdown, he also broke a Banning band member’s tuba when he was forced out of bounds after making a 29-yard reception late in the first half.

SMALL WONDERS

The combined weight of South Torrance tailback Chad Morton and quarterback Mike Rosato comes to a little more than that of the team’s biggest player, 6-foot-6, 265-pound lineman Chad Sauter.

“We’re a couple of lightweights,” Morton said.

Friday night, though, Morton and Rosato played like heavyweights to help visiting South defeat West Torrance, 18-13, in a Pioneer League opener.

Morton, a 5-4, 135-pound sophomore, rushed for 97 yards and two touchdowns in 13 carries and scored the winning TD on a 50-yard run with 6:59 left. Rosato, a 5-7, 155-pound junior, rushed for 50 yards in 15 carries and directed the Spartans (3-3) on three scoring drives.

Morton, brother of USC wide receiver Johnnie Morton and South senior receiver Eric Morton, started in place of junior Kapono Tumale, who was sidelined with a sprained ankle. Morton made the most of his opportunity, displaying exceptional quickness in a performance that surprised West Coach Kerry Crabb.

“We felt we may have had an advantage with Kapono being out, but (Morton) rose up and did a great job,” said Crabb, whose team had a four-game winning streak snapped.

South Coach Don Morrow said it was only the second game Morton has played tailback for the varsity team. He plans to rotate Morton and Tumale in future games.

“Chad is a tiny kid, so I don’t think our philosophy is going to be to get him 20 carries (a game),” Morrow said. “We’ve got to work him in on special plays and make him survive.”

On his game-winning touchdown run, Morton took a pitchout from Rosato and ran left before cutting upfield and sprinting past several defenders to the end zone.

“I just followed the blockers,” Morton said. “They did a great job.”

TURNOVER TROUBLE

Crabb blamed mistakes for West’s loss. The Warriors outgained South, 298 yards to 192, but lost a fumble and had two passes intercepted. South had no turnovers.

“We just gave them the ball at the wrong time,” Crabb said. “I think we outplayed them. I think we outplayed them (by) a lot.”

West’s most damaging turnover occurred early in the third quarter. Leading 7-6, West drove to the South 39 when quarterback Ryan Marshall was shaken up by South linebacker Sam Zinniger after completing a pass, forcing Marshall to briefly leave the game.

Two plays later, Marshall’s replacement, sophomore Kirk Bolling, threw a sideline pass that defensive back Ron Buxton intercepted and returned 35 yards to the West 30. That set up a four-yard TD run by fullback Travis Park, giving South a 12-7 lead.

“I wish I would have called something else,” Crabb said of Bolling’s only pass. “I would have still called a pass--I have confidence in the young man--but that’s probably not the route I should have called. It’s a dangerous throw for a young kid.”

COUGAR MAULING

Hawthorne’s 72-6 Bay League victory over visiting Santa Monica set a school record for most points in a game and ranks as the sixth-highest score in Southern Section history.

It was the most points scored by a Southern Section team since Rancho Alamitos scored 74 against Magnolia in 1990. San Diego High, which used to be a Southern Section member, holds the record with 130 points against Carlsbad Army-Navy in 1920.

After a scoreless first quarter, Hawthorne scored 38 points in the second quarter, 21 in the third and 13 in the fourth. Santa Monica (0-6) had seven turnovers, two that the Cougars returned for touchdowns.

Hawthorne, which entered the week ranked 11th in Southern Section team scoring, has 243 points in six games for a 40.5 average.

As usual, the Cougars thrived on big plays, finishing with only five first downs. Five of their touchdowns were 30 yards or longer, highlighted by a 95-yard kickoff return by tailback Corey McCoy, who had four TDs and 328 all-purpose yards.

CLIP JOB

Morningside quarterback Stais Boseman credited a Times article for motivating him to a three-touchdown performance in a 20-7 Ocean League victory Friday night at Culver City.

The article, which ran Thursday, called Boseman’s much-anticipated senior season an early disappointment because of a sprained ankle that limited his effectiveness and contributed to the Monarchs’ 1-3 start. Boseman answered by rushing for 111 yards and two TDs, including a 76-yard run, and returning an interception 52 yards for a TD. He also passed for 89 yards.

“(The article) gave me a little incentive,” Boseman said. “My leg is killing me right now, but during the game I didn’t feel a thing.

“I made about 30 copies (of the article). The whole team got a copy in the locker room. Tell (the reporter) thanks.”

FAST FINISHERS

Carson drove 61 yards in 14 plays to score its last touchdown on a five-yard pass from quarterback Jamie Sander to tight end Nakia Wheeler with 2:05 remaining Friday in a 14-6 victory over visiting Crenshaw.

The TD gave the Colts some breathing room and continued their dominance late in games. Carson has outscored its opponents, 53-6, in the fourth quarter.

FRIDAY KNIGHT FEVER

Bishop Montgomery Coach Bob Tompson blamed mistakes and penalties for his team’s 7-3 loss to host St. Francis in a Mission League opener, but he said the Knights had a reason for their sluggish play.

Tompson said an outbreak of viral meningitis on the team forced him to use several inexperienced players at key positions. Bishop Montgomery (2-2-2) finished with only 66 total yards.

“It’s tough to have any offensive consistency when you’re shuffling players in and out, but that’s what we had to do,” he said. “Some of the guys played through it but some of them just couldn’t. We had guys throwing up all week. It’s almost like an epidemic.”

Among those affected by the illness was quarterback Tony Gutierrez, who completed only two of eight passes for 23 yards and two interceptions before he was replaced in the second half.

“If we played (St. Francis) any other week, I think we could have beaten them,” Tompson said. “But that’s the way it goes.”

DEFENSIVE GEMS

* Carson defensive back George Wilson intercepted a pass in the end zone with 13 seconds left, after Crenshaw had driven to the Carson 32, to preserve a 14-6 victory. Linebacker Chris Vaimili had two of the Colts’ four sacks and linebacker Don Moala had a team-high 14 tackles, including two for losses.

* South Torrance defensive back Steve Finley returned an interception 25 yards to the West Torrance 43 with two minutes remaining to help secure an 18-13 victory.

* Hawthorne defensive back J.J. Arnett returned an interception 32 yards for a touchdown and linebacker Ronnie Morrissette returned a fumble 22 yards for a score in a 72-6 victory over Santa Monica.

* Peninsula defensive backs Jens Fleming and Christian Ritter each had interceptions and end Matt Cheeseman had three solo tackles and recovered a fumble in a 29-9 victory over Leuzinger.

* Inglewood defensive back Russell Shaw had two interceptions, one he returned 37 yards for a touchdown, in a 28-14 nonleague victory over Mira Costa.

* Torrance tackle Aaron Kaopua forced a fumble with a sack to set up the Tartars’ final touchdown in a 27-14 victory over El Segundo.

* Chadwick’s Sean Gorman had eight tackles, including five sacks, and a fumble recovery in a 26-7 Prep League victory over Rio Hondo Prep.

* Narbonne (1-5) held Jordan to 95 yards and forced four turnovers to end a 12-game losing streak, 7-0.

IN QUOTES

Peninsula tailback James Durroh, who rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns in a 29-9 victory over Leuzinger after missing most of the past two games with a sprained left ankle: “It felt real good. I was happy to come back. I want to give credit to my offensive line and my coaching staff. (The ankle) didn’t even bother me. I was 100%.”

North Torrance Coach Joe Austin after his team’s 35-0 victory at Centennial: “It’s nice to have this game out of the way. Centennial is really explosive. Because of their speed, we were very scared coming in here.”

Peninsula Coach Gary Kimbrell, who scouted the first half of Hawthorne’s 72-6 victory over Santa Monica and whose team plays the Cougars on Oct. 30: “It was ugly. That’s scary to go over there. Somebody got their dignity destroyed.”

Hawthorne Coach Dan Robbins on his team’s school-record blowout: “We have some depth. I wouldn’t tell a kid not to play full strength because that’s how you get hurt. I really like and respect (Santa Monica Coach Ron Guercio), that makes it harder.”

Torrance Coach Bill Bynum after his team held El Segundo to 142 yards in a 27-14 victory to break a four-game losing streak: “The defense finally arrived.”

INJURIES

El Segundo quarterback Jake Coulter sat out a 27-14 loss to Torrance because of a sprained knee. His replacement, Danny McFadden, completed only four of 18 passes for 58 yards. . . . Carson running backs John Houston and Robert Johnson, the team’s leading rushers, sat out a 14-6 victory over Crenshaw because of sprained ankles.